Ever since JM bought the farm I've thought there should be some sort of annual award given in his honor, reflecting his remarkable impact on this industry. Among his many contributions, was the groundwork he laid to advance the cause of direct shipment (who can forget his reference to Visalia onions).

Now that we have the Supreme Court ruling (be careful what you wish for )some entity should acknowledge the work of a person who has carried on the fight to bring wine from producer to consumer without jumping through innumerable middle man hoops. I have my nominees, but what group should give the award. COPIA? The Wine Appreciation Guild. Family Winemakers? The New World International wine competition (yet another trophy...)?

I don't know who should give the award, but I bet Jerry would have been loudly p***ed off regarding the mealy Supreme Court decision, which literally handed another tax revenue stream to states and did not put the real issue to rest.

That's for sure. The old ~don't ask don~t tell~ of shipping under the radar, one could argue, was far more preferable. Yet many wineries refused to engage in this commerce; now they are. Whether or not we now have a half full glass vs. no glass at all is debatable. Nonetheless, the concept of direct shipping has been accepted in the great majority of states. And Curmy deserves some recognition for advancing the cause however hobbled it is.

Amen! I now feel more confident placing orders with wineries in California or Oregon or Washington. I don't need to worry that the wine might be confiscated en route or that I will face a large fine. It's still frustrating to be restricted from ordering from a retail shop in Chicago, San Francisco, NYC, etc. that might have the very wine I want, but I wouldn't be doing that often anyway. I like to patronize local wine shops in North Carolina when I can.

Well, we could celebrate two of Jerry's other passions instead and give the Jerry Mead Little Egypt Award (named for a famous song by his beloved Lieber & Stoller) to the limberest, prettiest and spunkiest red headed cheerleader.

Some of you were not on THAT e-mail list but it was a doozy.

Love ya Curmy, say hey to Satan and hold a good place by the fire for me, Roberto